Bheemla Nayak movie review: Pawan Kalyan is terrific, Rana Daggubati makes solid impact in Ayyappanum Koshiyum remake

Ayyappanum Koshiyum, about two lead characters who lock horns over an incident and how their egos take them on a wild trip, is not an easy film to remake. It’s a dialogue-heavy film that purely worked due to the terrific performances of its lead actors – Biju Menon and Prithviraj Sukumaran. Bheemla Nayak, on the other hand, is an excessively commercialised remake of Ayyappanum Koshiyum, that fails to recreate the magic of the original but still works in its own ways, thanks to Pawan Kalyan’s machismo and Rana Daggubati’s impressive performance. (Also read: Valimai review: Terrific action in Ajith Kumar film supersedes predictable story)

Ayyappanum Koshiyum was instantly likeable because it was about two flawed men flexing their masculinity and stopping at nothing in order to prove who’s stronger. Bheemla Nayak pretty much takes the safe route and doesn’t dare to tamper with the soul of the original story. However, it makes minor changes to suit Telugu sensibilities, and more so to appeal to Pawan Kalyan’s massive fandom. The story follows Daniel Shekar (Rana Daggubati) aka Danny, who is taken into custody with his stock of alcohol in an alcohol-free zone. Danny is not someone who bows down to the police, and brags about his powerful background. When he challenges the policemen, Bheemla Nayak (Pawan Kalyan) takes charge, books Danny and puts him behind bars. This sets off a chain reaction and Bheemla Nayak and Danny won’t stop till they settle their score.

Ayyappanum Koshiyum relied heavily on non-stop tension between the lead characters. While Bheemla Nayak succeeds in recreating that tension, it also adds a lot of customary mainstream cinema gimmicks to make the film as entertaining as possible. It is understandable why the film resorts to being excessively commercial in its narrative style with a star like Pawan Kalyan at the helm. The face-off moments between Rana and Pawan Kalyan help the film really keep the viewers invested. For a good portion of the film, it’s the scenes between the lead heroes that makes Bheemla Nayak as good as the original if not better.

Pawan Kalyan is terrific as one of the fiercest characters he’s played on screen. He plays a character who suppresses his rage for the most part, but when he explodes, it’s engrossing to watch him own the transformation – Pawan Kalyan makes it look effortless. Rana, in yet another unique pick, plays Daniel Shekar convincingly – he’s menacing in the role and makes for a strong adversary to Pawan’s character. It is safe to say that director Saagar Chandra chose to make Bheemla Nayak a Pawan Kalyan film instead of giving both the lead stars equal scope to score over each other. Nevertheless, Rana makes a solid impact and this will go down as one of his best performances.

Film: Bheemla Nayak

Director: Saagar Chandra

Cast: Pawan Kalyan, Rana Daggubati, Murali Sharma, Nithya Menen, Samuthirakani and Samyuktha Menon

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